An archaeological examination of indigenous lifeways on the islands of Foveaux Strait/Te Ara-a-Kiwa

This research contributes to the culture-history of a region of New Zealand that is not well known archaeologically. When referring to Foveaux Strait/Te Ara-a-Kiwa, archaeologists have generally followed ethno-historic models incorporating the islands and coastal mainland within the wider Murihiku interaction sphere observed during contact and post contact periods. An examination of island sites within the Strait (Old Neck, on Stewart Island/Rakiura, and Sealers Bay Camp, on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou) provides an “archaeology of starting points” from which to consolidate and build on previous exploratory work.

Viewing the Strait as a cultural seascape centres interaction between oceanic and terrestrial spaces in a continuation of East Polynesian voyaging practices. Evidence for what people were doing in the Strait and when this took place is discussed within the context of island archaeology, strategic migration, interaction networks, and existing cultural models in New Zealand archaeology.

Excavation at D48/5 Sealers Bay Camp provided an opportunity to investigate a site on an offshore island with a complex stratigraphy representing multiple occupation layers, dense and diverse midden deposits and artefactual material sourced from throughout the country. Analysis identified significant early (14^th-15^th century AD) occupation, with specialist bone, stone and fibre workers supporting coastal fowling and fishing, including the targeted harvesting and preservation of seasonally schooling barracouta (Thyrsites atun). By contrast, the subsistence activities of the later (19^th century AD) historical Māori-Pākehā settlement were less intensive.

An examination of Lockerbie’s unpublished archaeological work at E48/39 Old Neck, on Patterson Inlet, Rakiura, has allowed the compilation of historical field data, the inventory of a museum collection and the analysis of midden samples from an offshore mainland island site. Although lacking in provenance and stratigraphic controls, careful investigation of the faunal component of this legacy collection provided evidence for extensive broad-based utilisation of the ecological zones around Patterson Inlet. Historically radiocarbon dated to the 13^th century AD, archaeological data from the site highlights the importance of local moa for initial indigenous settlement in Foveaux Strait.

This archaeological investigation of Sealers Bay Camp and Old Neck has provided two large novel data sets, that, while not directly comparable, contribute significantly towards understanding indigenous lifeways on the islands of Foveaux Strait. The evidence suggests that from first settlement, Paterson Inlet functioned as a multi-site, marine based centre for the islands of the Strait, while coastal locations around Rakiura and the smaller offshore islands were visited for specific subsistence and material resources. This offshore network became less sustainable over time and was further marginalised by changing settlement patterns on the mainland South Island.

This study, while regionally specific, uses findings from the bottom of the country to cast new light on processes of cultural adaptation in New Zealand. Examining the islands of Foveaux Strait in the context of familiar geographies of the East Polynesian seascape sheds new light on the role of so called "marginal regions" for indigenous settlement.